Tenshi
by EK
Summary: Complete. An unexpected guardian angel gets another chance on life, and another chance to prove himself. SPOILER and a retake for the ending of the series.
1. Entry 1

Hello, thank you for reading. Be warned that this is SPOILER for the ending of the series (although, I figure if you've read majority of the other fics, you already know). This will not take more than 5 chapters at the most.

Disclaimer: I don't own S7, I don't own the gearhead. I'm just a fan who refuses to believe the obvious. All this rigmarole is just conjecture and what-if. But I hope you like.

…………………………………

I've always wondered what heaven would be like. Would it have clouds? Other people? Buildings? Hehe, rice?

Maybe.

But I never expected to see Shikimoribito.

There are at least two of them, peering over me right now.

It seems like there are requirements for getting into heaven, and I haven't met them. Because I'm still here on this planet I've always lived on, and it's rather obvious that I'm deep underground. Where people go, when they have nowhere else to go, except heaven.

Aw, shucks.

I don't blame the boy for getting me hit. And he's surely not to blame for my getting pinned under a steel pillar. I thought I had paid my debts to the world already, especially with that last thing I did – blowing up the capital and all. I thought I could die in peace – well, just wishing I had had more of Kanna village's rice before I did. But heaven has other plans for me, it seems. And I'm still here.

I feel my head. Except that I don't have the pilot cap and goggles anymore, it's still my head, with no bandages and such. I feel weak as I raise my hands, but they're fine, too. My legs are still there, too, although they do feel a bit funny. I try to sit up ….. OW!

"Take it easy, Heihachi-sama."

Someone gently levels me back into bed. A young lady with short, boyish hair. Oh, no. Not HER!

"Are you sure you know who I am?" I ask her with a cough. It still hurts. "Because I'm the one who wanted to….."

"That's in the past, Heihachi-sama, and I deserved it," she answers.

Yare-yare. There's no reckoning with women.

One of the Shikimoribito waves a light over my eyes, asks me if I feel this and that, hear this and that. I think I answer correctly what he needs to know, because he nods to Honoka and leaves with the other one.

I do have a few questions for Honoka, because there is no one else to ask. "Um, um, how…"

"There were a few of them who rode to Kanna soon after all of you left – as a precaution, according to one of the leaders here. He said they would help should the help be needed. They did not intervene, because the five of you had things under control, they told us. They were supposed to go back already, when they found you, unconscious and bleeding."

I had to look away. "They should've left me…"

"They found you pressed under a heavy pillar, among the debris left by the capital. They were the ones who got you out. When they saw you were still breathing, just barely, they stopped what of the bleeding they could, did other emergency measures, and rushed you here."

"You don't understand….."

"So that's the story, so far. Report has it that you and your friends won. Amanushi is dead. Kanna is safe."

"You don't understand!" I pound a fist weakly at the mat. "You don't understand."

She makes a big sigh. "No, I do not understand. Please explain."

"Or maybe you do understand," I couldn't stop the heat from rushing to my head. "Haven't you felt that? Haven't you felt so sick of yourself for being a traitor that you want to stop living? Haven't you felt sorry that you couldn't take it back, do something good for a change? I had that chance. You took it away from me. The chance to finally do something good, then die. The chance to pay back my betrayal. You stole that from me!"

"But, it wasn't….."

"Now I have to keep living with myself. Worse, I have to be a burden to someone now."

Because I do realize that. My abdomen is still hurting terribly. It also hurts around my hips. With the pressure from that pillar, I know major damage was done to me. From now on, I'll be lucky if I get to walk. It would've been better for everybody if they just let me die then.

I know I had said something very terrible, to someone who didn't even know. But I couldn't hold it back.

She starts to sniff, and I see a few tears fall. She stands up to leave. "Ungrateful jerk." I watch as she walks out of the hut I'm in right now.

Yeah, I deserve that. Yare-yare. Me and my big mouth. I AM being ungrateful. There's nothing wrong with being alive, and here I am complaining.

I heard somewhere, during the years I was a ronin, that everyone is a guardian angel to someone else. Unless you fulfill that purpose, heaven will never let you become a real angel, if you deserve to be one. If you don't, then there's hell, or you continue to live.

I deserve to go the place even deeper than these caves, but someone somewhere thinks I'm a guardian angel. So maybe that's why I'm still alive? I haven't fulfilled my purpose yet? But, by golly, I've been living with myself for so long, how much longer do I have to live, to fulfill my purpose?

"You're not being fair to my sister, you know that?" a younger girl with a crop of silver hair peers over and gives me a bottle of water. Mizuki. "She's looked over you all of last week."

I look at Mizuki, very surprised. "A whole week?"

She nods. "Yeah, while our doctors and mechanical people here patched you up and fixed your back. They're just letting you heal for now. You'll be able to move around by next week. And, there's one more thing….."

"Oh?"

"Nee-chan begged the Shikimoribito to let you stay here."

"What? Why?"

"Well, you won't be in any condition to be a ronin again, that's for sure. Those things they did to you will need fixing once in a while."

"Not that 'why', Mizuki-chan. The 'Why is your sister being nice to me?', 'why'."

"I'm not sure. But she said something about the chance to finally do something good."

"I see." Yare-yare. I messed things up again. Oh, dear. ……Wait a minute, there's a few things I still need to know. "By the way, Mizuki-chan, what happened to Kanbei-sama, Shichi-san, Katsu……OW!"

"They're still alive, some scouts told us."

"I'm glad."

For now, that's all I really want to know. I'm still alive, my companions are still alive, and our mission was completed.

And I don't know what happens next.

…………………………………………….

They managed to save my goggles and my tools (they're metal, anyway), but the rest of my gear and clothes are gone. They have me dressed in new clothes, so I look more like a farmer now. A lot like Rikichi-san, actually, but my clothes are gray, not blue.

As for that "fixing" that Mizuki talked about. She said they operated on me, and checked on my internal organs, but the damage to them was easily managed, thankfully. They corrected the fractures to my hip bones and spine, added pins here and there to keep them stable. They fixed my spinal cord so I can still, more or less, feel and move my feet and legs, but it still hurts to do that because of the pain at the hip and abdomen. I am glad they didn't have to replace my legs. I did think Shichi-san's arm was neat, but I wouldn't want to have that kind of thing on me.

I keep hearing whispers just beyond me, when they think I've gone to sleep. Something always about Kanna, and something about me. They don't want to tell me something, I know so. They think I'm too weak to handle it. But I think I can guess.

The world outside thinks I'm dead.

Eventually I manage to beg Mizuki to tell me what the scouts know. "Who's still alive, and who's dead, back at Kanna?"

"Kanbei-sama, Shichiroji-sama, Katsushiro-sama, as I told you before, are still alive," she says. "But there's this high point in Kanna village where they placed swords….."

"Yes, I know that place….."

"It now has 4 mounds, with 5 swords. A straight sword, two swords crossed, a very large one – the one owned by the mecha samurai, and…..and……one with a weather doll."

"Kyuzo-dono, Kikuchiyo……" I sigh. "And me."

"They're still there, Kanbei-sama and the others, but the scouts did not want to tell them about you yet. At least, not without your permission."

I sit up slowly – the fixing did allow me to do that – and face Mizuki. "Don't tell them."

She's clearly surprised at me.

"It's better that they think I'm dead."

"But don't you think….."

I hide from her what I really feel, and give her a wide smile. "Don't worry. I can be really useful here, too, don't you think? A lot of the vehicles here are asking for a regular mechanic."

She chuckles. "Okay, have it your way, Heihachi-sama." She hands me my dinner in a rice bowl.

I'm relieved that she didn't ask any further. I do not want pity from anyone. I have enough of that from me.

The Shikimoribito come around a few hours later, and let me try my legs, after having to stay in bed for so long. Honoka is there and helps me up.

I manage to stand up straight for a few minutes, even to walk a few steps around the hut. But it hurts, a LOT, and I have to ask to be brought back to bed. It's not the walking itself that hurts, you understand. It's the pressure on the hip bones. Even if they finally take out the pins and things, I have a feeling I still won't be able to walk long distances, much less fight.

"Thanks for all the effort, I really appreciate it, but it looks like walking is not something I'll do a lot of," I tell them with a shy grin. "Sorry for being such trouble. Don't you have a flying kettle I can use instead?"

The Shikimoribito shake their heads.

It's not so bad. A kettle would be hard to fly with me like this now, since I have to be standing to use them. It hurts too much to stay standing for a long time. But maybe……. "Can I ask a favor? If I design it, would you be able to make it for me? Something that works like a flying kettle, just a bit smaller, and lets me sit. Could you do it?"

They nod – more like, they bob their heads up and down – and I'm grateful.

It's great to be drawing schematics again. Slashing machines is fine, but I still get the most out of fixing up machines and making schematics, and seeing the machines work the way you want them to.

I draw up a plan for a circular, battery-powered flyer, much like a kettle in principle but smaller and lighter, and would allow my upper body to move freely. After all, I don't need so many weapons, and I surely don't need pincers. I just need something to use to move around in and not be a bother to anyone. A joystick for moving the flyer, a brake pedal where my feet can reach it, a few buttons for some minor weapons, a door to let me in, some space for a lunch box (of course). Some provision for a retractable shield, just in case I'm shot at. And a nice comfy seat!

The Shikimoribito are truly masters at what they do. I only have to wait three days for my flyer, and it's done! There's absolutely no way I can repay all their kindness to me…..but I have to find a way, eventually.

Honoka, meanwhile, is the model of the eternally patient woman. I still can't believe her, and why she keeps helping me out. Like right now, as she helps me walk up and get into the flyer.

It's much like before. I can't believe someone trusts me.

I put on my goggles and give my flyer a test run, as Honoka, her sister, and a few Shikimoribito look on. The performance of the flyer is better than I expected, and the response time is incredible for a machine its size. Slight movements of the joystick move the machine only just as much as I want. And it moves silently. Being battery-powered, it does not emit smoke or create a lot of whirring noises. I circle around the trees and the fields, then around the water surrounding the land, making good speed but not creating a lot of wind in the passing. The planters did not even look up at me, the machine is that quiet. I actually hide behind one Shikimoribito who wasn't paying much attention, and tweaked his helmet perfectly. It's a great piece of machinery, if I say so myself.

I drop down beside them, and bow.

Mizuki claps at the contraption. "It's so quick, and so quiet! You can scare people like that, Heihachi-sama, weaving in and out like a ghost."

Honoka, beside her, is looking at me with wide eyes. "Or, like an angel."

"Angel? Me?"

"Why not?" she says. "Angels are immortal."

……………………………

My thanks to the LJ people who gave the suggestions and support. You know who you are.

I've done first-person one-shots before, but even while thinking through this I realize this would be harder than the others. But I figured that using third person omniscient would not be right as well, so it turned out like this. Argh, present tense is tough to use! Comments and suggestions are very welcome.


	2. Entry 2

Hiya, and thanks for reading. I do hope you like it.

Disclaimer: Again, I don't own S7 or the gearhead, and this is all a what-if by a fan who refuses to believe the obvious.

…………………………………

Besides the flyer, which I use for moving around rather large areas around the community, I also made a small, collapsible scooter. Something I can use for moving around shorter distances or narrow spaces. Honoka made me a little walking stick, too, bless her heart. She tied a little weather doll on it for good measure.

"Why are you being so nice to me, Honoka-san?" I asked her one night, when everyone had left the hut.

"Why are you being so nice to everyone, Heihachi-sama?" she asked back.

"I….um….."

"That's also my reason," she said, and went to bed.

Honoka is quite nice to everyone on the whole, of course. A bit on the quiet side, but she has a toughness to her that she could not hide under the calm face. Maybe it's because of what happened to her and to her family that makes her so, as well as the fact that she was forced to become a spy.

We're somewhat alike that way. We have worn our mask-like faces for so long, it's rather hard to stop wearing them.

Have I told her what I told Kanbei-sama, you ask? Yes, I have, when she decided to keep me company after a long procedure they did to my hip bones. It just came out, flowed out, you might say. First slowly, then faster and faster, until I could not keep any part of it hidden anymore. I had to do it. I had to explain why I did that to her. I had to apologize.

She said I did not have to apologize. But apologies are given for peace of mind. Finally, after all these years, I can tell someone, I am sorry for what I did. For years, there was absolutely no one I can apologize to, and I had to carry all those unsaid apologies, all in my heart.

I asked Mizuki what her sister might like to have that I can make for her, in return for all her kindness.

"I'm not sure, really," she replied and scratched her head. "I do remember we used to have a little music box at home. My father bought it in town. Nee-san liked that a lot. It had a little person dancing and twirling on top."

"How did the song go?"

She hummed the tune and imitated the little dancer for me, as I smiled and laughed at her. When she finished I said my thanks and quickly made a few sketches. I showed them to Mizuki, who told me to add this and fix that. But she was soon satisfied, and I soon started work on it.

Since I'm a mechanic used to large vehicles, very small machines and gadgets are a challenge to me. I had to stay up a few nights, after she had gone to bed, creating the little music box, just working out which gear was small enough to turn the drum, then how to place it in.

I managed to get the music box finished by the end of that week. I had been on quite a rush that night, making the finishing touches and running final tests. I never noticed the hours that passed. I barely remembered looking happily at the dancing figure as she moved to the tinkling music of a faraway village when I was done, glad that I had finally done a little something for her.

I think I fell asleep without me really knowing. But a blanket had been draped over me, and the music box had disappeared from the workbench.

Nothing changed with how she worked with me that day, in that kind but somewhat aloof manner that she had. She helped me stand up, let me lean on her – but she did not talk to me. Mizuki did not say anything unusual about it, either.

But that evening, a few minutes after she said goodnight, I heard it. A quiet tinkling.

Life is good.

……………………………

It takes a whole month, after the fall of the capital, before I am well enough to go outside the underground community. Thanks to Honoka and Mizuki, I get to meet a lot of good people over that month, both among the refugees and the Shikimoribito. And yes, in the process, I got to be fed a lot by the nice ladies of the community. They keep telling me I'm cute and funny, and they like me. I guess that's a good thing.

I also manage to find my place among them, now considered as something between refugee and Shikimoribito. I help out with maintaining their transport vehicles and cranes. I also try to keep the carts in condition. My abdomen still hurts a bit while I work, but it's no big deal. They have done so much for me, it's about time I return the favor, don't you think?

There are several children among the refugees, and they make the days pass faster for me. Always asking why I have the flyer and the other tools, and can they use them, too.

"Nee-chan told us, you came back from the dead!" one little kid tells me.

"Now that's taking it too far…." I reply.

"Nii-chan said, you're a mechanical samurai, but you don't look like one," another says.

"Well, I guess I am, in a way," I rub my head and give them a little grin.

But the little girls remind me of Komachi and Okara, and I realize that I have not been to Kanna village since we attacked the capital. I do want to see for myself how it is right now.

I ask for permission from the heads, and they actually say it would be convenient for them. They have to do some trading with the village, and they ask me to pilot the transport ship.

"Wearing THAT?" I ask them quite suddenly, and point at their uniforms, which I think is quite bulky.

"It is not too difficult to use, Hei-san, once you get the hang of it," one of them says.

I shrug and let them fit me.

Because I still don't want them to know that I lived.

I drive a red transport ship out of the caves into the desert. With me are two Shikimoribito who will do the actual negotiations with Gisaku. It was a minor deal. One battery in exchange for some rice bales. Kanbei-sama had requested for it, evidently. It was for a few machines needed to help clear out the fields that were destroyed by the attack.

I circle the outskirts of the village once we get there. The place is deserted. It's still winter, and very cold. And it is still quite early in the morning.

I park the ship, and get on the flyer. The two Shikimoribito could take care of things from here. I have other places I have to go.

I have to go to the cliff.

I take the scenic route, though. I'm covered enough inside the borrowed suit, thus no one would know me. The flyer is so quiet I manage to pass through the deserted village without being noticed. It is better that way.

Kanna village is pretty much the same way I last saw it, a calm and quiet village. In many places I see houses in various stages of rebuilding, but most of them are quite done by now. Katsushiro-kun's warning systems and the towers we built are still in place, though. For better or for worse, Kanna village had changed because of us, and it would never again be the same.

I see Katsushiro-kun, already awake and practicing sword drills in the snow. There is a sad determination in each swing now, that wasn't there before. Each swing is now steady and sure. I am really sorry it had to happen to such a nice young man.

Shichi-san is also up and about, inspecting the wooden frame of a house being built. I wonder if he has seen Yukino-san yet.

Kanbei-sama I do not manage to find. I do hope he isn't meditating at the top of the cliff where Goro-san is.

I steer the flyer onward up the hill, and upward to the cliff.

It is as they said. Five swords now line it, and mine is planted over a little mound. I pause in spite of myself. I had wanted for all of us to get out of that final attack alive. It was not meant to be.

I take off the uniform. I want them to recognize me. I'm not sure why, though. I'm not even sure if they would recognize me now: dark gray and simple farmer's tunic, goggles on my head, my messy hair tied back low, a semi-rigid brace at my back. But I want them to see me. I take out the cane and hobble my way closer to the mounds. It doesn't hurt as much now, but it's still tough having to walk. All the same, I think my comrades deserve this effort.

I stop at each one, and remember everything I can about our short time together. How Kyuzo-dono tossed me a large Nobuseri rifle and trusted me with it completely. How Kikuchiyo brightened up and steamed at me when I said he was a samurai through and through. How Goro-san got me and Rikichi to dress up and play as crazy women. That is how I want to remember them. I'm not sure if I want to know how they died, but I do know that they died honorably, trying to save the village. I hope, they think the same about me.

"You know them, sir?" A voice asks just behind me, a female voice. I turn around just slightly, and see that it is Shino, Manzo's daughter.

I take a deep breath, and try to disguise my voice, since my clothes don't give me away so much. "They were honorable men, and I want to pay my respects."

I should've remembered that after Kirara-san, Shino-san got to talk to me a lot, and she knows my deeper voice, too. "I know that voice. Heihachi-sama." I scratch my head, and bow politely, but she suddenly comes forward and holds me by the hands and shoulders and cheeks. "It's impossible! But I'm feeling a real body! It's impossible!"

"I thought I was a goner, too, if you must know..."

"But how?"

"The Shikimoribito, they found me……"

She gives me a hug, fortunately not tight around the waist. "I cried as hard as everyone else when Rikichi told us, maybe more. You still tried to be kind to my father, after all that."

"Um, thank you, I guess?"

She wipes off a few tears from her cheeks. "How come you didn't tell us you are still alive? You have to come back to the village with me! I have to tell Kirara, and Katsushiro-sama!"

"He is still here?"

"Yes, he, Kanbei-sama and Shichiroji-sama. We have to tell them!" She begins to tug at me.

But I shake my head. "No, Shino-san, no, thank you. I will ask you not to tell them."

"But this is such good news! And we'll have a nice lunch set out for you!"

"No, please, Shino-san." I lower my head. "It's better that they think I'm gone."

"Heihachi-sama!"

I sigh, and explain. "I've been with Kanbei-sama and Katsushiro-kun long enough. They would feel sorry for not doing more. Shichi-san might not admit it, but he would feel the same way, too."

"But...but...And there are so many things I still want to tell you….."

I hobble back to the flyer, and take out a spare communicator I had brought just for this purpose. I give a few short comments for the folks back at the base to say what I just did, and give the communicator to Shino. "I am staying with the Shikimoribito now. If you need me in any way, or you just feel like talking, press this button and ask for me. You can tell me all about my comrades with that. Just please don't tell them about me."

She takes the device from me, then gives me a final hug. "I am very glad to see you again. I am glad you are safe."

"So am I." I release myself from her embrace, and face the graves of my fallen comrades. "I swear, on their honor, that I will come here, should you ever need my help."

"Come back soon," she bows to me, as I get back on the flyer, start it running, and disappear into the woods.

As I fly back to the transport ship, I quickly hear a crackling noise over the speakers of the onboard communicator. Shino forgot to deactivate the transmitter, and a voice comes through to me.

"You're up here early," the voice, another young lady, says. "Who was with you just now?"

There is a silence of a few moments, then I hear Shino's voice. She is chuckling a bit. "Tenshi."

"Tenshi?"

She chuckles again. "Yes, I guess I can call him that. Tenshi-sama. He was an angel. He promised to help us should we ever need it."

"Have you gone crazy, Shino?" her friend asks her.

She keeps chuckling. "Just a little bit. I didn't expect to see an angel so early in the morning."

Yare-yare. These people make me an angel, when I'm not even a saint.

………………………

Again, thanks for still reading this. Comments and suggestions welcome. See you in the next chapter.


	3. Entry 3

Hello, and thanks for still reading. Please leave a review if you are! I guess I am fishing for it, but I do want to know what people think of this little story.

Disclaimer: I don't S7, my favorite gearhead, or any of the people here, and this is all conjecture by a fan who refuses to believe the obvious.

…………………….

"Tenshi-sama, Tenshi-sama….over…."

I could never get used to being called that, but it has turned into my communicator handle. "Hi, Shino-san, what can I do for you?"

"I just want to say hello, Tenshi-sama," and she giggles a bit. "And I want to invite you here. It's Komachi's birthday tomorrow, and there will be a little party."

"Save me a little of the food, then," I answer back. "Especially some of your cooking."

"You flatter me, Hei-sama," she forgets for a moment. "Um, I mean…."

"It's alright, Shino-san. Nothing giving you trouble there?"

"Everything is alright here. Well, maybe except how Kirara stays sad about something……"

"Really?"

"Yes, unfortunately. We can't get her to smile a lot now."

"And Katsushiro-kun?"

Some silence on the other end. "Katsushiro-sama, he left the village last night. Kirara told us."

I do feel sorry for Katsushiro-kun. You can feel it that Kirara was the first young woman that truly caught his eye, but she had her eyes on another man…..and that man has to be his sensei. As for his sensei……I don't understand why he doesn't open his heart to the girl, when she seems nice enough, and loves him enough.

"So, Tenshi-sama, are you coming tomorrow?"

I do want to. I miss the way Shino cooks her rice, which is better than that of the other young women of the village. But I don't feel ready yet to face the village, being like this, feeling like this. Happy to be alive, but wanting to be dead.

"I'll just send over a gift for Komachi, will that be alright? There's a messenger turtle I saw lurking around here. I'll work on it tonight."

I could sense her disappointment on the other end. "Oh, alright. Thank you, Hei-sama. Over and out."

Shino contacts like this at least once a day, the first week she had the communicator. Always at night, after dinner and her father had went to bed. That is just fine with me, because by then I was also free for the evening, and done with all the mechanic work.

This communication with Shino does get me into trouble sometimes, with the other short-haired woman I have to regularly deal with.

"Doesn't she have anything better to do?" she once asked me with a decidedly icy voice.

I give her my embarrassed grin. "What else do you expect her to do after dinner and her father's gone to bed?"

She tossed her head and left the room.

But the novelty of this little pastime eventually fades with Shino, and after two weeks the contacts decrease to one or two in any given week. I'm glad for that. Honoka seems to be less cold with me when that happens.

…………………………

Winter makes way for spring.

Life for me falls into a routine, here in these caves. In the mornings, I take Honoka and Mizuki on the flyer to the fields where they work. After that, I take the flyer to the battery factory, checking what needs to be fixed or tweaked. For lunch, I go back to the fields and have lunch with the girls. I would check on them and try to help out with repairs to the carts and reapers. We all go home together for dinner. And that's that. It's a good life, and I am happy to be here, helping out and being with the others here.

Sometimes the Shikimoribito ask me to drive one of their transport ships out of the community and into Kougakyo or any of the other farming villages. I always oblige. I want to see the other villages, and how the world outside kept moving after the fall of the capital. By going outside with them, I want to know if everything is still alright, that nothing was happening elsewhere in the world that would harm Kanna and other villages like it.

I always love to ride around in the scooter while in Kougakyo, savoring the smells and taking in the sights. For the most part, nothing much changes in Kougakyo, from the way I remember it. Stores bustle with customers and sellings. Restaurants and food stalls are full. And yes, ronin still wander the streets. However, the people respect them a little more as they walk around. I suppose we did that for everybody, I'm glad.

But I keep noticing little groups of people whispering and looking anxious, especially when anyone who looks rather rich makes his way through the town. More buzzing happens then. The man is the manager of such-and-such town, this other man is the most influential man across so many villages. So-and-so has great chances to be chosen as the new emperor. So-and-so might kill for it. Eventually I learn that there will be a general assembly of the leaders of the towns and villages. An overall leader will be chosen from among them. Such is the reason for all the anxiety.

Sure, we did everybody a favor when we took down Ukyo…um, I mean, ended the Amanushi dynasty. But what after that? Nobody knew who was supposed to be the leader now, or if there was supposed to be a leader over all the towns and villages. Some of the town managers wanted to be overall head, the lord, the emperor. If Ukyo of Kougakyo could be one, why not they? So there was still a tension in the air around Kougakyo and the other towns.

I have seen enough of Kougakyo and its people. They will not cower again. They will not agree to be lorded over again. Sure, they would agree to be allies or such, but they will fight again if anyone tried to be their masters again, especially if by force.

But I am a ronin and a refugee. Politics are not my thing; those are things Kanbei-sama knows how to handle. Not me.

I spend a little time at that restaurant I used to go to back then, having some of their popular rice meals. I'm glad that this time I have a little money to pay for my meal and tea, since the Shikimoribito give me some whenever we're in a town. I take a seat and table just outside the shop, on account of the scooter. I enjoy the afternoon breeze and savor my meal.

That is when I overhear the group of people just inside the shop. A wooden wall with a window is the only thing separating me from them, and I hear every word, even if they try to talk in whispers.

"Not all the Nobuseri were destroyed at that attack, you know," one person says.

"Even if they were, we hold the engineering plans for many of the common types. We got it from someone who worked with the capital's chief mechanic," yet another says. "No humans are needed anymore, we can operate them from a control center. We have that process as well."

There are a total of three people, judging from the voices. "Are you saying, we can build them to our advantage?" the third man says, a man who sounds like an authority figure.

I take out a little device I use for finding faraway screws, a very small fiberoptic telescope. I extend it, and make it pass just slightly into the window. I now get a good view of the people who are talking. One man I recognize to be the new Kougakyo manager after Ayamaro and Ukyo. And rumors have it he got the position by killing off all that remained of Ayamaro's subordinates. The second man was a samurai bodyguard, judging from the sword he had. The last man probably was a spy of some sort.

"Yes, sir," this last one says to the manager. "We can force this deadlock to end. With these robots, we can scare the towns and villages to vote in your favor in the coming assembly."

Through the telescope, I see the manager rub his chin thoughtfully. "The idea is very good, very good indeed. Of course, the public need not know this. If you strike at night, they would not see them. Even if they did, we can say that an unknown force led them, all the more reason for their vote of confidence for this leader."

The samurai speaks. "How much damage shall we impose?"

"What do you suggest?" the manager asks the informant.

"The outskirts of Kougakyo, and half of some of the villages. Where, sir, do you suggest we strike?"

"Strike the more stubborn areas first. Kanna, for example," the manager says.

Kanna! Why Kanna village first, damn you?

"They will offer the most resistance, I figure," the manager explains. "But now that the attack is over and their samurai are either dead or gone, they should be frightened back to submission."

Oh, no.

"We will meet here again in a week. I want more information about these Nobuseri that you speak of. If you can, start development on them already. And, I want a solid plan of attack at our next meeting."

I pull back my telescope as the men stand up and leave the restaurant. None of them have noticed me or my telescope.

I feel my pulse racing and my heart pounding as I try to start up the scooter. This is not happening to me. This is not happening!

I finally manage to get the scooter running, and I speed as fast as I can back to our transport ship. I wait for my Shikimoribito comrades there. I speak to no one, listen to no one. It's bad enough what I just heard.

I don't know what to do, or who to tell. I don't have Kanbei-sama's experience, I don't have Katsushiro-kun's raw guts. I'm just a mechanic and a sorry excuse for a samurai. But if I don't do or say anything, Kanna, even Kougakyou, will burn!

I return that evening to our hut, quite spent and tired out. I try to stay happy for the sisters, and try to laugh at Mizuki's jokes. It's hard to maintain a happy face when I know something so terrible. I don't do justice to Honoka's fine cooking, and I can't tell her what's bothering me, because I'm not sure myself what's bothering me.

Why me? Why do I have to know that? Do I tell somebody what I know? What if I make a mistake, and tell it to the wrong people, and destroy Kougakyo, or Kanna, or the Shikimoribito community? I can't make that mistake again. I can't.

I usually walk around with the cane at night, for a little practice, you know. But tonight, I feel really weak. I use the scooter to get into my room, and flop from the scooter into my chair by the workbench.

The communicator on the workbench makes a funny noise, then a familiar girl's voice comes through. "Tenshi-sama……Tenshi-sama………over……"

It has been many days since the communicator crackled with Shino's voice, so I am a bit concerned. "Yes, Shino-san, how are you?"

"We started planting today, Sanae-san was with us, too….." but I can tell that Shino is making small talk. "Have I told you that Komachi is the Mikumari now?" Her voice keeps breaking up, and for such happy news, she does not sound happy.

"Shino-san, what do you really want to talk about?" I ask her.

"Hei-sama…." She sniffs, "They have left."

"Left? Who?"

"Kanbei-sama, and Shichiroji-sama, they have left us, Hei-sama. They have left."

"So……there is….."

Suddenly I hear another voice. "Shino, what IS that?" It's a young lady, and I'm rather concerned that I know who it is. Kirara is with her in the same room. "Why are you talking to a box?"

I stay silent, because I'm not sure what to do. Shino's voice comes in, begging. "Tenshi-sama……shall I tell her?"

Well, people have to know some time. I do the talking. "Good evening, Kirara-san. Hayashida Heihachi, at your service. This is Shino-san's communicator. I'm talking from the Shikimorito community. I'm quite fine here, don't worry. How are you?"

I'm glad Kirara is not typically the screaming kind of young lady. "Shino……the box…..the box….."

"Yes, he's alive, he gave me the communicator," I hear Shino explain. "Want to try it?"

"I can't believe I'm hearing that voice again….." Kirara's voice breaks. "I saw the weather doll…..Katsushiro-sama told us….."

I try to make it easier for Kirara. "I'll come over to Kanna some day and I'll prove it. But is it true, Kirara-san? Kanbei-sama and Shichi-san have left Kanna?"

"Hello, hello?" she first said. "I'm here with Shino. I just want to be with someone tonight. It's true."

So no one is actually protecting Kanna right now. No one except the spirits on the cliff. This is not good. Not when there are rumblings of a political uprising in the towns.

But I can't leave here. They also need me here. I don't want to frighten these girls without reason. And I definitely don't know what to tell Kirara. She's feeling sad, I know that.

Kirara's voice is painful to hear through the communicator. "Is it really you, Heihachi-sama? Please come back to us, please. Kanbei-sama is gone. Even Katsushiro-sama."

"I will see what I can do, Kirara-san, Shino-san," I promise that with all my heart. "Over and out."

I cut the transmission.

I don't want to talk anymore. I WILL see what I can do, but I don't know exactly what to do. I'm just one person. A person who cannot walk very far, who can no longer fight. What can I do?

I'm not an angel. I'm just a weak person.

……………………

Really sorry if you don't know S7 yet, junyortrakr. Thanks for reading this all the same.


	4. Entry 4

Hello and thanks for coming back. I'm almost done with this semester break fic.

Disclaimer: This is all from my crazy head, as a gearhead fan still denying the obvious.

……………………

I return to that little restaurant in Kougakyo at the appointed time. I am now armed with a voice recorder and a real camera, which I rig to the window inconspicuously. I sit at the same place. I watch the three men enter the restaurant after I have been there for an hour, and they sit at the same place as before. They obviously did not notice me, or if they did, they think I'm of no concern to them.

"The best time to strike Kanna is tomorrow. The day is near enough to be remembered, yet far enough to be linked to you, don't you think?" the informant says.

"And the best time to strike Kougakyo is the day after the attack on Kanna," the samurai bodyguard added. "Close enough to be linked and to make the leaders spring to action."

It's annoying to me how heartlessly they are talking about this.

"How many Nobuseri can we deploy?" the manager asks the other two.

"Fifty at each village, and three hundred here. If they are not noticed, these numbers should be necessary. If they are, we have backups in a Honmaru we can keep hidden in the desert, ready upon quick call."

The informant then takes out a map of Kougakyo, and he points up the most probable attack points. He also takes out a general layout of the farming villages around and near Kougakyo, pointing out the likely attack areas. Of course, I take the necessary pictures and keep the recorder running.

But my head is refusing to register all this. I can't believe humans can actually think like this, real humans. Because I had suspicions that Ukyo was a half-alien, from the way Kirara and the others described him.

"And none of this will be connected to you or me?" the manager finally asks.

"None, sir, we made sure of that," the informant says.

But if they're dealing with Nobuseri….hehe….I think I know a way they haven't checked.

All the same, as the three leave the restaurant, I can't help but be really, REALLY concerned. Kougakyo and Kanna and the other villages will really be blasted by this politician and his henchmen. Damn them. Why me? Of all the people that had to know, why ME?

I dismantle my recorder and camera from off the window, take deep breaths to calm by pulsing heart, and start the scooter again. I drive through the main streets, not sure where I'm going, not sure what I should do.

I'm too preoccupied with my thoughts, and I don't notice the man in front of me. I just see a bright red staff over my eyes, before I fall over, scooter and all, onto the ground. Ow….Ow….Ow.

"I tried to miss you but you won't let me," the man chuckles over me. And as I look up, he offers a hand. He pulls me up (me trying hard not to scream from the pain), and finally we get a good look at each other.

Shichiroji-san.

I look at him, and he looks at me, for the longest time. I don't know what's going on in his head, but I know what's going on in my own head. I wonder why I even thought he would be sorry to see me alive. I shouldn't have kept it from him. He lets me get back onto the scooter, and I give my thanks.

His lips widen in his unique way, a cross between a smile and a smirk. "Long time no see, Hei-san," is all he says to me.

"Likewise, Momotaro-san," I grin and reply.

"You're looking well, someone's been feeding you right," he gives a wide smile and pats me on the shoulder.

But I get to my point, glad that someone would actually listen to me. "I need your help."

"Nobuseri again?" he chuckles.

"Actually, yes," I lower my head.

"That was a joke!"

"I'm being serious," and I quickly tell him the rest of what I know.

"Ah, that IS a problem," he nods and grins. "What do you plan to do?"

"I really don't know, Shichi-san. That's why I need your help."

"Yare-yare." He rubs his chin. "Times like this I wish Kyuzo were still with us, so he could end this at the source. But since he isn't, we'll make the man fall some other way. Do you have some idea where they will strike in Kougakyo?"

I nod, and give him the details.

"Good, good. I'll take care of things here. You of course will take care of Kanna village?"

I scratch my head. "Looks that way. Save the cores of the robots, please. They should have the model numbers. We can use that for evidence."

He gives me a final grin. "So, I'll see you around. Glad you're fine."

"Thanks a lot, Shichi-san," but I couldn't smile at him. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

He shakes his head. "Why do you think I stayed at Hotaruya, Hei-san, all those years? Because I couldn't tell anyone else sooner, either." He turns his back on me, and walks away whistling.

Oh, yeah, I forgot. He's a tenshi, too. Someone who was allowed to live, when he should have died. I should have remembered.

That takes care of Kougakyo. The Shikimoribito could probably take care of themselves, I only have to warn them. But someone has to warn the neighboring villages around Kanna, too. If I do that, someone has to go to Kanna already in my place.

But I'm too exhausted and too hurting to think any farther than that. I find a quiet, deserted spot, and rest for a while.

Maybe for a long while. When I wake up, the sun is almost gone, and it's getting dark. Where are my comrades? Why haven't they looked for me? Or have they, and I didn't notice? Oh, no!

I get back onto the main streets, and speed back to our transport vehicle.

That's when I see him.

The proud topknot, the fancy clothes, the sobered young face. I couldn't believe he is still around here. I would've thought he wandered far from Kanna already by now. But he knows me, and I hope he is willing to help.

He walks fast, so I don't get off the scooter, and just tap him on the shoulder then stop the scooter in front of him.

He gives me a quick glance, his eyes bulge out, his jaw drops, and he steps back from me. Then he puts on his practiced warrior face. "Who….Who are you?" the stern tenor voice snaps.

I don't care. I need help. So I talk fast. "There is going to be an attack on Kanna village and all the neighboring villages. Could you please just keep an eye and a sword ready at Kanna, whatever happens?"

The mention of Kanna village makes him look at me intently, wondering why I am talking to him about it. "I repeat," the boy frowns at me. "Who are you?"

I sigh. I guess I'm asking too much of him. "Could you at least tell the police about a plot to destroy parts of Kougakyo before the general assembly?"

"You're not answering my question," the boy's frown gets deeper.

"But don't you recognize me, Katsushiro-kun?" This is insane! I take off goggles and ponytail, and beg him to look again.

Instead, he takes out his sword. But it shakes in his hand, as he tries to stop a few tears from falling. "You are taking a terrible joke too far, good sir. Heihachi-dono is dead, and I saw him die. How dare you pose as he! I will ask you one last time. Who are you, really, and whom do you work for? If I do not get a straight answer, I will kill you here."

I tie back my messy red hair again, and smile sadly. "Heaven had other plans, Katsushiro-kun. Heaven wills it for Heihachi-dono to continue to live. So here I am."

"It's a lie!" he screams. "A lie!"

"No lie, Katsushiro-kun."

"Prove it."

I talk desperately, earnestly, memories flowing, coming hard and fast. "Kanna village has a banner, one with a triangle, six circles, and the symbol for rice. The triangle stands for Kikuchiyo, the circles for the rest of us, and the symbol for the village. Kanbei-sama considered you one of his seven when we were at the Shikimoribito community. I was in a kettle when I saved you from falling to your death after riding that log. There are seven deities for rice……"

"Enough, enough." He has fallen on his knees, weeping. "No more, Heihachi-dono."

"It was not your fault, Katsushiro-kun, it never was," I try to console him as best as I can. "I do not blame anyone."

Still he continues to weep. "Why couldn't I save you then? Why didn't I do more?"

"At that time, no one could."

"But I…."

"Hora-hora, that's enough crying for one day, okay?" I put on my happy face for him. "Look, if you can help me this once, we're even, how's that?"

He wipes off the tears, gives a final sniffle, and becomes all serious again. "What do you need done?"

I give him the details, asking him to go to the police with the information, and hopefully find Shichiroji-san and help him out as well. I could not make myself again to ask him to return to Kanna village.

"Understood." Then he becomes a 17-year-old little boy again. "Will I ever see you again?"

"Whenever you visit the underground caves, why not, Katsushiro-kun?" I answer gladly.

He holds me by the shoulder, and cries, and cries. "Heihachi-dono…..I didn't help you……and Kyuzo-dono……I'm sorry……I'm sorry……"

It is no use telling him that it was a war, and he did what he could, and that to live was an achievement of itself. "Katsushiro-kun, didn't you hear what I said? I forgive you, and I don't blame you. I don't know what you did to Kyuzo-dono, and I don't want to know. But I'm pretty sure he forgives you and doesn't blame you either."

My Shikimoribito comrades are still not done. So I offer to take the boy for some dinner. We continue talking. About Kanna village, about Kirara, about those who lived, and those who died. I tell him how the Shikimoribito found me, about Honoka, about giving her a hard time the first few days, about accepting what I am now.

I guess it's what he had wanted to have for quite a while, for he seems much calmer with himself and the world after we're done. I'm glad. I really am. And I guess, I needed it, too.

We part ways as the stars come out in the sky, with a promise to meet again.

…………………………

Momotaro gave his word to protect Kougakyo. Katsushiro-kun promised to report the conspiracy to the authorities. That leaves me to both protect Kanna village and inform the rest of the neighboring villages. This will definitely not be easy.

I guess I looked rather spacey and worried when I get home, because both Mizuki and Honoka stay clear of me tonight. I immediately go to my room, and sit back at my workbench, and think and think.

Then I remember Shino, and I pick up the communicator. "Shino-san, this is Tenshi-sama, over….Please, please respond….."

"Shino here, Tenshi-sama." I breathe a sigh of relief that Shino is there. "It's unusual that you call at this hour…."

"Shino-san, listen carefully. Go to Gisaku's house, tonight. Bring your father if you need to, but go tonight. Tell him this: a group of remote-controlled Nobuseri will be attacking tonight or tomorrow. You have to get ready."

"WHAT!"

"I will come over, I promise that, but make all the necessary preparations. Repeat what I said, Shino-san." I find the sternness in my voice a bit alarming. But I have to get my point across.

"Tell Gisaku that Nobuseri will be attacking tonight or tomorrow, we should prepare, and you're coming over." Shino's voice is shaking.

"Very good. Does the village have quick means to contact the villages beside yours?"

"We have runners, yes." Shino's voice is still shaking, but I like how calmly she's taking this.

"Good, tell them to go to the other villages with the same information." I can't believe how calm I am with this, myself.

"But, Hei-sama, why? Why us again?"

"I'm not sure why, just get ready. When something starts, contact here immediately."

"Yes, Hei-sama, and thank you." Shino cuts the line.

That takes care of that. But it does make me wonder if I should have gone to Kanna immediately after having that chat with Katsushiro-kun. What if something is already happening, if some Nobuseri are already mobilizing?

Honoka finds me staring up at the ceiling, trying to plan what I should do and when, and how things will turn out. I don't know what time it is already when she sees me.

"It's already past midnight, Heihachi." I guess from a whole winter of being with me, she has gotten comfortable to calling me without any titles. "What's the matter now?"

I smile at her sadly. "Kougakyo and Kanna will be attacked tomorrow. A conspiracy by one of the leaders who wants to be overall lord of the country. I have to go to Kanna."

She pales, and her mouth opens ever so slightly. "But haven't you paid enough for your crimes, Heihachi?" She says this so quietly, I almost don't hear it. "You don't have to go."

"It's not that I want to leave here. But I have to do this, Honoka. There is no one else."

"Once is enough. Do you want to die that badly?"

I think I know what she's driving at, but I don't want to believe what I'm hearing.

She takes up my hand, and places her head over it, like a cat asking for to be caressed. She is still Honoka, with her short sentences and calm voice, but I don't know this side of her. "Please don't leave. Please don't do this. I don't want to see you even close to dying. Never again. You are needed here, as well. We need you." She pauses, and looks up at me. "I need you."

"You're kidding, right?" Well, I didn't know what else to say!

She shakes her head.

It's scary when any woman is that frank with a guy, but it's worse when it's a woman like Honoka, who rarely speaks her mind. Does she have any idea how frightening to me her last three words were? I try to focus on the problem at hand. "But what about the village?"

"You are just one man."

"I know, how well I know. But if I don't do anything, no one will."

She sighs again. She raises her head and faces me with a smile. "At least, Heihachi, let me help."

"Help? You? Why? How?"

"For starters, Heihachi, can I help you think this through? And would you like some tea?"

I've already met and talked to three allies, and still I forget that I have friends, that I don't have to bear my fears alone now. "Sure, that would be nice, Honoka."

……………………

One chapter left. I did say this story will be short. I made this over the one-week semester break. I apologize if the pacing is a little off, but I don't want to make it long. I want to get back to planning out the running GB and RK fics. Thanks and I hope you come back.


	5. Entry 5

We come to the end of this little story. Thanks a lot for reading it, and thanks for indulging an incurable Heihachi fan in her delusion. I know this isn't some of my best work, and this is indeed a rush job. This is the story I finished over the one-week semester break (yes, only one week) this school year. But I was happy to have this story running in my head. I was happy trying to analyze the gearhead's brain for a short while. Thanks again for indulging me.

The idea for this story comes from the observation that while we do see the teruteru, we don't see a body at episode 26 after the events in episode 25, unlike for Kyuzo and Kikuchiyo.

Disclaimer: I don't own S7 or the gearhead, and this is the end of a what-if story, by a fan who refuses to believe the obvious.

………………………..

"You don't have a sword anymore……"

"Yeah….."

"And even if you did, you won't be able to use it well."

"Yeah…."

She bows her head for a moment and looks away. "You can never threat anyone with death for treason again."

"That, too," I sigh.

I never liked remembering what I did to her, but I do, every once in a while. When she admitted to being a spy for the capital, everyone else wanted to either give her a second chance, or at least let her live. I drew a sword at her and wanted her dead. My blood was boiling with as much pent-up anger I had with myself, for once being an informant for the enemy. The part I could never forgive myself for is this: she was forced to do it. She did not deserve that.

I know, whenever she looks at me, that she remembers that time, too. And it hurts her, too. In the same way I want to apologize through everything I do, to prove I am not what she thinks I am, she keeps trying to prove that she is not what I think she is. In the process, we have both found out things about each other….that we have both liked.

She waves it off. "Sorry. Back to my point. You have to think over a way of defeating them that does not need a sword and close contact, because you can no longer do that."

But the mention of that awful time, does give me a good idea.

"A spy, a traitor, will act like all of its kind, but silently take down its kind." I look at my communicator at the workbench, and grin.

"What do you mean?" she asks.

I keep smiling at her, and point to a corner. "Honoka, could you please hand over the electrical tools there? Then that metal box at the other corner. Hmmm…..something to keep it stuck…….ah…can you possibly manage to get me a large magnet from the scrap yard later, before we go?"

"I'm not understanding what you're getting at, Heihachi," she says as she gives the toolbox.

"What best to finish off the Nobuseri, but another Nobuseri? And who best to think like a traitor…..than another traitor?"

She gives me a sad smile. "Now, I understand." She pats my hand again. "Remember to get some rest, alright? It is a battle you're going to."

I promise.

………………………………

If this were not a battle day, I would be really happy for the nice spring day that greets us. As it is, there's not a cloud in the sky, so any attack will be really really easy, oh, dear.

"Tenshi-sama? Tenshi-sama? The men are ready and armed. We're waiting for you," Shino reports to my communicator in the flyer.

"I'm on my way. Women and children?"

"They're safe at the priestess' house. I'm the only one who isn't there, because I'm with Gisaku."

"Brave lady. I salute you."

"Just get over here quickly, please, Hei-sama."

I chuckle. "Sure, sure." I look sheepishly at Honoka, sitting beside me at the transport ship the Shikimoribito lent me. "Stop worrying! Shino said there's a farmer she's starting to admire."

She tosses her head. "Who said I was worrying?"

As I said before, there's no reckoning with women.

I circle Kanna village once we get there. All the towers are manned, guns and bows and arrows are ready. Kanbei-sama taught them well. I make a quick survey of the other villages as well. No one has attacked them yet, thankfully.

I do tell Shino that I have arrived at Kanna, but I don't show myself. I fly up to the graves on the cliff.

"Hi, guys, I'm back," I greet my fallen comrades. "Remember Honoka-san? She's here, too."

It's a good vantage point, so I wait here. In the meantime, Honoka takes her time praying before each sword. It's the first time she has been here.

When lunch time arrives and nothing still happens, Honoka takes out a little basket that she brought along, and opens it. Two covered boxes of rice and toppings, and packets of juice. Nice and thoughtful of her, yes? I thank the heavens that I know her.

"You said you liked Shino-san's cooking better," she sighs.

"I like the way she cooks Kanna's rice," I admit. "But on the whole, you're the best cook I've met."

She lowers her head, and blushes.

But as soon as we're done with lunch, I see a dark cloud, and more and more dark figures, emerge from afar. Here they are. Here we go. I contact Shino to get ready, and we get on the flyer. I fly on to the village, and drop off Honoka with Shino at Gisaku's house.

"There, go and meet Shino-san. You'll see I'm not kidding you," I tell her. "I have to go."

"Promise you'll come back," she begs.

"I'll try."

I take the flyer out to meet the first few Nobuseri head on. I remember what Mizuki said, that the flyer is so quiet and so fast I can move like a ghost, and I use it to my advantage.

I take the flyer up, and up, and up. I manage to get really close to one of them, as blasts come here and there around me. I open the hatch, and throw the modified communicator onto the robot's back, making it stick with the strong magnet Honoka got from the scrap yard.

Whew! Now to get out of the way!

I place the flyer on autopilot, and begin to fiddle with another communication device I have with me. I hunt for the frequency the enemy uses to remotely control all of the Nobuseri, then I go a few notches higher, to control the one I attached the communicator to. That Nobuseri is now mine, and a traitor to its kind.

"Shino-san, report! Are there any attacks on the other villages?"

"Yes, Tenshi-sama, there are, but the ronin at each village has the situation under control," her voice nervously crackles back to me.

"What about you, are you all alright?"

"So far, yes."

"Over and out."

I make my robot get close to each of the others, then hit them discreetly through the core. I make it speed through the others, and 10 Nobuseri in 5 minutes. I check on the debris that falls, catching the core of each robot as I find it. I'm right in my hunch. The cores have the model numbers, unique to each one. Someone will definitely have records of their sale and day of creation. Someone in the towns will know how to deal with this.

I make the robot keep slashing and firing. I make sure that my robot keeps any of the others from attacking or firing at Kanna village. I am also assisted by the missiles from the salvaged guns the village has. Soon the 49 robots sent against Kanna village are down, without the controller at their base knowing what hit them. The fight is over in an hour.

"Shino-san, how are all of you?"

But I hear Honoka's voice over the communicator. "We're fine, how are you, Heihachi?"

"I'm okay, I'm going over to the other villages to check."

"But Heihachi….."

"I'll take care. Over and out."

I know she's worried, but I have to go check. I drive the flyer out of Kanna and into the neighboring villages, my controlled Nobuseri with me.

The ronin guards at each village did not leave when the capital fell, as the arrangement was agreeable to all concerned. But I did notice that the Nobuseri were just plain too large to handle. So I do what I can to help out, making my robot slip into each troop of Nobuseri and slash them without warning. I make the battle at each village shorter because of that, and I'm not sure the ronin guards actually know how that happened, hehe.

As evening falls on the farming villages, almost all the battles are done, and no villages have been destroyed. Thank goodness!

"Heihachi! Heihachi!" a half-panicky Honoka comes in through the communicator again.

"I'm still okay, Honoka, thanks for worrying." I swear I'm still fine. The flyer is well made, well shielded. I'm a little tired from all the maneuvering, but my abdomen doesn't hurt, and nothing is really painful right now.

"Don't lie to me!"

"I'm not, I'm fine!"

And that's when it happens.

I just barely see one of the last Nobuseri as it falls. But as it falls, it fires a shot at my controlled robot, then at my flyer!

So the control center finally noticed the traitor, and shot it down. My robot self-destructs, blasting apart in too many pieces.

The shot to the flyer fries almost all my controls, and I drift the flyer manually back to Kanna as fast as I can.

"I'm going down! I'm going down!"

"Heihachi!"

"Wing Rock! I'm going there! Hurry!"

The flyer crashes in one piece onto the ground around the village monument, all the buttons and even the joystick sparking and crackling too much. I break the hatch with the communicator, and get out slowly, really yelling from the pain my hip bones are giving me again.

I drag myself with my arms just a bit farther from the flyer, as it continues to spark and crackle. But I'm too slow, and I'm still too close when the flyer explodes. I knock my head on something hard, and the world disappears in a blast of light.

Oh, dear, I never told Honoka she's special to me.

Everything goes dark and blank.

………………………

Everyone is a guardian angel to someone else. Unless he fulfills this purpose, he will remain on earth, and will never become a true angel.

What are the requirements for getting to heaven? What do they need out of me, to let me in? Will I ever get to know if heaven has white clouds, people, rice? WHAT do I have to do? How much more do I have to pay back, before I'm allowed to leave this world? Why won't heaven let me in? I am a guardian angel to whom?

I weakly open my eyes. But once again, I'm somewhere that doesn't look anything like heaven. "Where……am I?"

"Home, silly." A face pops into view, one of undisguised relief. It's Honoka.

"Don't tell me. I've been unconscious for a week, and they had to revamp all the work they did on my hip bones and back."

"Just two days," she says simply. "And the rest of you is fine."

I look over my head and my hands, feel my abdomen and my chest, wiggle my toes. I am indeed fine.

But this time, I really am glad to be alive and well. It would've been such a terrible thing if I had to live in heaven and not have Mizuki and Honoka there. Especially the older sister, of course. "So, what did happen?" I drawl this out at them. I'm still tired and aching in many places.

"You were knocked out by the force of the explosion, Heihachi, that's all. I….I……tried to stop the bleeding as soon as possible. See? Aren't you glad I went along?" She ends with a shy little smile.

Yes, I am.

"You were a cat in a past life," Mizuki squeezes my hand and beams at me. "You have more than nine lives!"

"He's not a cat, dear sister," Honoka says beside her. "He's an angel. And angels are immortal."

No, I am not. How many times do I have to convince these people that I'm not even close to being an angel? No more talk like this, even from Honoka. "Kanna village?"

"It's safe, thanks to you."

That is really good to hear. "What about Katsushiro-kun and Shichi-san?"

"We have received reports from Kougakyo. Both samurai are alive and well. They were able to stop the strikes there. And the manager of the town has been arrested for conspiracy."

Mizuki interrupts her sister, "Roji-sama says he's coming over to visit in a few days!"

I don't ask any further about Katsushiro-kun. Now, I suppose, he will wander on to other places, far from Kanna and Kougakyo. It would be actually good for him. I wish him all the best.

"So, I guess there's nothing else left for me to do," I close my eyes and sigh. There is only one question left to answer: if I have fulfilled all my obligations, why am I still here?

"What do you mean, there is nothing else left to do, Heihachi-tenshi-sama?" Honoka smiles at me again. "There's the transport ship that would not start, and the crane at the west end that keeps dropping things……"

"And nee-san wants you to fix the leak in our water tank, once you're better," Mizuki nudges her sister, and gives me a happy grin and the victory sign.

That answers my final question.

Why am I still here? For the little things that makes living on earth still worth it.

Seeing a transport vehicle work well again without a noise. Making schematics for things that will make planting easier for the people here. Eating dinner with two lovely girls. Once in a while having Shino's incredible rice under well-chosen vegetables. Seeing the smile on Honoka's face after a nice evening chat over tea.

So, that's that for me now. My life will continue in this routine I have set for myself. In the mornings I'm a mechanic to all the vehicles and machines that need it. In the afternoons I'm repairman to the farmer tools. In the evenings, I'm just happy to live another day. Every so often, I'm a pilot for the Shikimoribito transport vehicles. And every once in a while, I'm maintenance personnel to the alarm systems and towers in Kanna village, and some of the other villages, too.

I will always be dependent on the flyer and the scooter now, but that's all right. I have friends to help me, don't I? And I have her.

Maybe, who knows? I might get enough nerve to propose to her. The reason I'm being asked to stay alive, to remain an angel on earth, for someone else.

Maybe.

--Owari--

……………………….

I do realize that I did not properly flesh out the relationship I entertained in this story, thus it turned out rather too fast, and for that I'm really sorry. But I hope you liked it and considered it rather feasible.

I thank the reviewers of this little story for reviewing, and making me feel that this was worth it. Thanks to roryheadmav and calreflector for the suggestions that helped for the working concepts. That is all I have left to say.

EK out.


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